About

Automatic Mario (自動マリオ) is a subgenre of remix videos that emulate popular songs and soundtracks through gameplay footage of customized level stages in Super Mario World[1]. Mostly created by fans using Super Mario ROM editors, musical compositions in Auto-Mario videos are carefully prearranged by the architectural design of each level and thus rarely requires any input from the player. However, there are other types of Super Mario MOD[2] levels that can be played manually or semi-manually with musical accompaniments.

Origin

The earliest example of Automatic Mario on YouTube can be traced back to 2007 with a video titled "Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 March of the Minis! Custom-made Stage: Automatic Mini Mario (マリオVSドンキーコング２ ミニミニ大行進！ 自作ステージ: じどうミニマリオ) and uploaded by YouTuber sonomamario[3]. The video shows Mini-Mario, a toy version of Mario featured in “Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2” moving across the stage and completing the level with the aid of various tools and barriers alone. The video has been since removed by the uploader.

Spread

While NND’s wiki entry[4] gives credit to fan bases overseas for early development of Super Mario MODs, Auto-Mario videos became immensely popular on Nico Nico Douga, peaking circa 2008. The earliest version of Auto-Mario debuted on NND on June 9th, 2007:

The Method

Most Auto Mario levels are made with “Lunar Magic”[5], a level for Super Mario World. The custom blocks (Speed up block, bounce block, etc.) are coded in 65816 ASM and inserted using Blocktool or Blocktool Super Deluxe. The alternate GFX for them are either Super Mario World GFX or GFX ripped from a different game.

Auto-Mario Editing Software

In 2006, online popularity of Mario Paint songs saw its first leap when a team of Japanese developers released a freeware called Mario Sequencer, the first desktop version of Mario Music Composer. Eclipsing with the rise of video-sharing communities, the software and its musical compositions became a hit on Japanese memetic hubs like Nico Nico Douga. The earliest NND video of Mario Paint song was uploaded in April 2007, which was a 23-second composition of “The Wind’s Yearning” originally featured in the video game Chrono Trigger.

In 2007, an online flash game site called UnFun Games released Mario Paint Composer, yet another downloadable version of the original tool. Seen by many as an opportunity to relive their early 90s childhood, people downloaded the program and began making Mario Paint renditions of popular tunes found in videogames, animes, television shows and etc. The earliest YouTube rendtion was uploaded in June 2007, which featured the “Ruby Stage” theme from the videogame Panel de Pon.

May 13, 2008: X-Day on Nico Nico Douga

To many NND users’ dismay, majority of Mario-related content were bulk-deleted on account of copyright infringement in May 2008. This incident became known as “Auto-Mario Wipeout” or “X Day” among NND users who protested this decision. But as it is often the case with other video-sharing communities, most of these videos have been restored by other users since then.

Derivatives

There are other variations of Auto-Mario, including Hold-B jump mode or synchronized with music using Auto-Mario Sequencer. The phenomenon continued on with Nintendo DS versions of Super Mario titles like Super Mario Brothers and Mario vs. Donkey Kong.

Pre-music Synchronization

Soon after the initial uploads, many videos came to follow it on Nico Nico Douga[7] and YouTube[6][8].